13 Weeks and The Second Trimester!

My pregnancy journal says the baby is measuring about 3 inches and weighing around 1 ounce. Baby Cox looks a bit like a miniature, a very miniature-newborn. The little body is fully formed, though the head is still disproportionately large. The kidneys and urinary tract are fully functioning this week: Baby Cox can swallow and expel amniotic fluid. Most of the critical development of the organs and body systems is complete; the likelihood of a miscarriage decreases significantly from this point on. One tiny detail is also complete- the baby even has fingerprints.

As for me I'm feeling pretty good. I had a very long week at work and I'm glad it's over. Jonathan and I are headed back to the doctor tomorrow morning for our NT scan. We are going to get a gender guess. I hope it's a very clear shot so we know for sure what we are having. I know it's very early and most people don't find out til later, but if they feel like they are sure they will tell you. After our appt we are heading to Birmingham for Jonathan's uncle's funeral. He passed away Saturday morning after his battle with cancer. My heart breaks for their family right now. It hasn't been 2 months since my dad passed away and I know how hard losing your father can be at such a early age. Please keep the Watson Family in your prayers as they need strength, comfort, peace, and understanding as they go through this.

I will try my best to post our ultrasound pictures tomorrow night and post the gender (if we know).

The Last First Trimester Pictures of Baby Cox!

Profile Shot


Resting af ter trying to do a back flip!




A shot of the legs!




A thumb sucker already:)





We had our ultrasound yesterday and Baby Cox is healthy and growing! Jonathan and I asked my mom to walk over and come watch the ultrasound. It was her first time seeing Baby Cox "in person". We heard the heartbeat again and it was 157. We were suppose to go in next Friday for our NT ultrasound, but the baby was already measuring 12 weeks, 6 days yesterday so we are going in Monday instead. You can only do this scan at a certain time or the results are not read. If you go by the baby's growth I am out of the first trimester today, but if you go by my dates I will be out of it on Saturday. Either way I'm close enough.


I'm sorry this is short, but I'm so tired. We are in the process of getting a new computer system at work and it's been crazy. I'm about to go put my feet up.

12 Weeks!

Today I start the last week of my first trimester! I can't tell you how excited both Jonathan and I are. I'm looking forward to a burst of energy sometime around week 16, hopefully a not so yucky tummy, and finding out the gender of Baby Cox, planning the nursery, and a lot more this trimester. We have so much to look forward to and I can't wait.

My baby journal says that the baby is 2 1/2 inches with a face that's starting to organize itself into that of a newborn. The intestines, which grew so fast that they spilled into the umbilical cord, now retreat back into the abdominal cavity. Also, around this time, the kidneys start excreting urine. As the nervous system continues to develop, Baby Cox is demonstrating more reflexes, including sucking.

I'm feeling okay. I have eaten a little more today. I have got sick a couple of times, felt very nausea, and very lightheaded. I still think I'm having a little improvement. I stopped my progesterone today so I'm hoping I continue to feel better each and every day.

Well we have decided to take it easy this weekend. Jonathan has been helping my brother paint my mom's house before she gets new floors put in on Tuesday due to the flood. She did not have water come in from the ground, but their back porch collapsed messing up the roof which caused rain to run down the walls and mess up her floors along with her computer that was on the same wall. It was a lot of damage and she is very lucky because insurance is paying for everything since it was not considered flood damage. She's had a lot going on, but at least she getting lots of updates and staying busy.

I'm about to go try find a good movie to watch. Have a good Memorial day weekend and I will "see" you Tuesday after our ultrasound!

Progesterone Check

I can't believe my weekly progesterone checks are coming to an end. I went to my doctor's office yesterday to check my level. Remember last week it had dropped to 28. Well, it has gone back up to 39.5! I was so happy to hear this because I'm suppose to stop my progesterone support on Saturday and if it had continued to drop I wouldn't really feel comfortable doing so. Now I don't have to worry about it. I'm hoping the placenta has now taken over and that is the reason for the rise and it continues to take care of Baby Cox like it should. I will go into ART on Tuesday morning for my last check just to see what it does once I'm completely off of the support and the placenta is doing everything itself.

I also go in Tuesday afternoon to Dr. Dupre's office for another ultrasound. Our appt. is at 1:10. I will be sure and post our newest pictures of Baby Cox that evening.

3 Year Anniversary!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Cox!









Jonathan and leaving our reception!








Me with my Parents!




The wedding Party!



Tomorrow, May 20 Jonathan and I will be celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary. I must say the past 3 years have flown by. We have had many great times and some very hard times, but I think we both agree they all made our marriage stronger. Tomorrow would have been my parents 37th wedding anniversary. It is very special to both Jonathan and I that we share this special day with them.




We don't really have any plans as of right now. These days we are having to take things day by day because we never know how I'm going to feel. We are talking about a few options for the weekend. I will of course let everyone know what we end up doing.




Enjoy the pictures!

11 Weeks!

My Mother's Day present. Boppy Pregnany Pillow!




Before!



Uncle Tab even helped!



The final product minus baskets, clothes, shoes, and toys!



Baby Cox's first outfit!



A closer peek:)



Me and the Daddy-to-Be!



Some of the girls!



Courtney with her some of her Bridesmaids!




I know I'm a day ahead of myself, but Jonathan and I have such a busy weekend I thought I mine as well go ahead and update our blog now why I have a chance. Tonight we had a couple's shower for one of my Best Friends Courtney Parrish and Turner Faulkner. I am in their wedding in July and could not be happier for the two of them. Tomorrow I have to work til noon. Then we have a Couple's Baby Shower for Lauren and Jeremy Vinson. They are having their first child a little boy, Hubb (so cute) in July. We are so excited that Baby Cox will be able to grow up with Hubb. We also having a wedding to attend tomorrow night. Then on Sunday we are suppose to go to a Graduation Ceremony. Busy, Busy, Busy. This time of the year seems to always be like that. I enjoy being able to see good friends at all of these fun events.

Okay now for a quick update on what Baby Cox has been up to. Now 2 inches long, the baby weighs around 1/3 of an ounce. Under paper-thin and transparent skin, the skeleton is starting to harden as bone replaces cartilage. Little tooth buds are forming under the gums (though the first tooth won't appear until 4 to 7 months old). The baby's external genitalia are also developing. Kicks, stretches, and other movements continue to increase. Baby Cox might also experience bouts of hiccups, which make his/her body entire body bounce even though I can't feel it.


Jonathan and I are getting more and more excited as we near the end of our first trimester. We actually bought Baby Cox his/her first outfit! I was a little nervous about it, but it was cute, gender neutral, and on sale. We got a little Christmas day gown from Name Dropper. It is hard to find cute gender neutral stuff and of course since the Baby is due at the beginning of December I thought a Christmas day gown would be perfect! Another thing that Jonathan and I did, well mostly Jonathan did was a put a closet organizer up in Baby Cox's room. The baby's room unfortunately has the smallest closet in the whole house so we needed a way to make room for more stuff. Of course we will probably use the closet in our office too. I think we both enjoy doing these type of things. It makes everything more seem more real.


I got my progesterone level back from my appt. on Monday. It dropped to 28 or 29. My memory doesn't seem to be that great lately:) I am still taking the progesterone support, but called in a order to my speciality pharmacy for the type I use to take to see if that has something to do with it. The Dr. was not worried at all. I'm just use to ART wanting it higher and also getting same day results. Dr. Dupre wants me to stop in on day this week and have it rechecked. Our plan is to completely stop it next Saturday! They will check it again that following Monday to see how it does once the placenta has taken over. Other than that this will be the first week we have not seen Baby Cox since I was 5 weeks along. We are both looking forward to seeing how much he/she has grown a week from this Tuesday.


I need to get in bed and get some rest for the rest of our busy weekend. I will leave you with some pictures. Enjoy!

Our 1st OB Appt!

Baby Cox! 10 weeks, 2 days!


Baby Cox resting!



Baby Cox raising it's arm!


Baby Cox laying on his/her back. Head is the the right.




Well Jonathan and I are done with our first OB appt. My appt was at 10:30 and we did not get out of there until after 12:30. I guess we need to get use to longer appts. We are use to getting in and out at ART. It's different when you are seeing a doctor who has to make deliveries in between seeing clients. Okay back to the visit. The first thing we did was meet with Dr. Dupre. He went over some of my history (infertility, surgeries, etc...). The first thing I learned today was that I may have to have a C-section. The reason behind this is because my last surgery I had a polyp removed from my uterus. Depending on where on/around the uterus the polyp was removed will be the deciding factor. Removing a polyp/fibroid in certain places can cause risk during a regular delivery because the pushing can cause the scar to rupture causing hemorrhaging which is obviously not safe. Dr. Dupre did not have the report from my surgery, but should by next appt with him so we can farther discuss this. I can't tell you how caught off guard I was when this came up. If we have to do a c-section I know I will be fine, but I must admit part of me was upset about the idea of not experiencing Labor. I know some of y'all think I must be crazy, but I would love to know what a contraction feels like and everything else that goes on during labor and delivery. After discussing the possibility of that we discussed my meds. He is planning on taking me off my glucophage and progesterone at 12 weeks. Only 2 more weeks! I had my progesterone checked today, but won't get the results until tomorrow sometime. I will of course have my progesterone rechecked once I stop it at 12 weeks. I'm still planning on going to ART to have it checked. Dr. Dupre said that was good since he would be out of town then. The best news is that Jonathan and I got to take another peek at Baby Cox! This was my first "real" ultrasound. I won't go into what "real" means for all of you males reading this:) It was different seeing the baby from a different angle. He/She was active again today. Punching it's little arm up at my abdomen whenever she would move the probe. The best part was actually hearing the heartbeat today. It was beating away at 170 beats per minute.


We will return in 2 weeks for another U/S. Then 2 weeks after that which I think is Friday, June 5th. On the 5th we are having a NT scan where they check to see if the baby has any marker's for Down's. We are not planning on doing any other genetic testing. We basically are just doing this one for another U/S. We know no matter the outcome it will not change anything for us so we are not worried about it all. The best part about us doing this scan is that I will 13.6 weeks and they may tell me what the gender is(depending on the tech). This means in less than a month we might now Pink or Blue?!?! We will return the following Tuesday for our 2nd OB appt. I thought things were going to slow down since we aren't at ART anymore, but it doesn't look that way. I must admit I love all these ultrasounds Dr. Dupre is doing for me. He told me he was trying to be nice and we think so!


I hope all you mommies had a Happy Mother's Day. Jonathan bought me a little present. He got me a Boppy Pregnancy Pillow. I thought it was so thoughtful. I will post a picture next time I blog so those of you that don't know what they are can see. I think it's calling my name right now. Goodnite!

10 Weeks! Double Digits!!!

I'm getting ready to end the first day in my 10th week. I'm feeling pretty good. I've had a lot of cramping over the past 4 days which I think has finally stopped. I was really starting to get worried. It could be several things. The first thing is I have some cysts on my left ovary, pain from my ultrasound on Wednesday, or just the fact that the baby is having a growth spurt right now.

My baby journal says this week our baby's body is about 1-1/2 inches long, with the head taking up about half of that.Weight: around 1/4 ounce. The baby's head size and bulging shape reflect how tremendously the brain is growing and maturing. In fact, most of the vital organs have begun to function. Spinal nerves are branching out from the spinal cord. Although I can't feel it yet, given the baby's still-minuscule size, he or she is very active. More big news: by the end of the week our baby is officially known as a fetus.

This week in my journal Jonathan and I are suppose to start discussing name contenders. This is so exciting to me. Of course I've had some in the back of my head for a couple of years now, but I love talking it over and making a "short list".

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and we are planning on cooking out over at my mom's tomorrow for lunch then heading up to Birmingham to have dinner with Jonathan's parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I hope all you Mother's and Mother's-to-Be have a Happy Mother's Day!

Monday is our first OB appt with Dr. Dupre. I will be sure to post that night on all the exciting "things" that happen.

A Growing Baby and Saying Goodbye!

Baby Cox with the marker. The head is on the right side if you can't tell:)


Baby Cox at 9 Weeks 4 Days. (Measuring 10 weeks, 2 days)




Me with the Wonderful Ladies at ART (Montgomery Office)








Jonathan and I with Dr. Houserman!


Jonathan and I had our last appt at ART today. Well, I will go in one more time at 12 weeks for blood work so technically today was it for us. Anyways, today's appt was GREAT. Baby Cox is growing so fast. It truly amazes us every week. Today Sarah pressed on my tummy to get Baby Cox going and it worked. He/She was kicking and punching it's arms and legs. I love seeing the baby move. I could lay there all day and watch it. We could see the arms, legs, eye sockets, ears, the cord, and the heart flickering away. Baby Cox was measuring 10 Weeks and 2 Days. I am 9 weeks and 4 days. At some point my due date might be pushed up a little to match the baby's growth if the ultrasounds continue to show the baby measuring ahead. My progesterone still looks great at 49.2. Oh and the best news of the day is I'm done with my progesterone injections!!! I'm so excited. Don't get me wrong shots don't bother me at all, but having to do IM (In the Muscle) shots going back and forth on each hip for 6 weeks starts to get a little sore. The progesterone is mixed in oil so it is really thick and sometimes it will just sit under the skin in one place for days. So to say the least I'm happy! I will continue to take my other progesterone support until I'm 12 weeks. Then I go in to ART to recheck my level if it's good I will stop that progesterone then. The placenta usually starts to take over between 10-12 weeks so hopefully will be just fine. We got to see Dr. Houserman today which was exciting. It was our first time seeing her since we found at we were expecting. She said everything looks great!


Now we are getting ready for our first OB appt on Monday. We are both really excited about hearing the heartbeat. I'm hoping Dr. Dupre lets me have a ultrasound too. If I don't get one then I should get one in a couple of weeks. We are going to miss seeing Baby Cox every week, but hopefully I can still get them pretty often. My mom works at OBGYN so my fingers are crossed:)

I'm happy to say I'm feeling a lot better. Still taking my meds which I will continue to take for I don't know how long. I'm to afraid to stop them. I also think I popped a little today. My pants are get a little more snug and Jonathan and I can both tell my tummy is really starting to grow a little.


I think that is all the updates I have for now. Have a good rest of the week and weekend! I hope enjoy the pictures. We could not get one with the baby stretching it's arms and legs. Maybe next time. You can really tell how big he/she is when the baby is stretched.

9 Weeks!

I can't believe I'm starting my 3rd month of pregnancy today! I have to say I might be feeling a little better. I think I'm more tired, but the nausea did not last all day today. I hope this comment does not come back to bite me:) I am still taking both my meds. I'm not even going to think about giving them up right now. I've been getting frequent headaches which could be from the pregnancy or the zofran as it is a side effect. My tummy is still changing shapes and I'm very bloated at times. I guess that is all my "pregnancy symptoms" for now. I'm trying to post them on here or in my pregnancy journal so I can look back at all the stages of my pregnancy.

Tonight Jonathan and I wanted to get out of the house so we went to look at Baby "gear". I've been looking online some at strollers, highchairs, and the basic things. It was a lot more fun looking at the stuff in the stores. I know it will be even better once we know what we are having. Boy or Girl?!?!

Now it's time for a little development update on Baby Cox. The baby is now about 1 to 1-1/4 inches long and will begin to gain weight at a quicker pace. The eyes are now covered by full eyelids (which won't open until around 28 weeks), and the pupils and optic nerve are developing. Other facial features-nose, lips, and mouth are also becoming more defined. The baby can now move his/her arms, legs, hands, and feet better since all of the joints work and the muscles can contract. Most of the time he/she just prefers to stay curled up.

We are looking forward to our appointment on Wednesday. I know it's going to be bittersweet having our last appt at ART. Exciting because our pregnancy is moving along just as it should, but sad because these people become part of your family. You see them so much and go through some of the most emotional times in your life with them. They have been such a great support not only for our infertility,but even dealing with the loss of father. Jonathan and I will definitely be back to introduce Baby Cox to them. I will post an update on Wednesday (if not before then) afternoon and of course post new pictures.

Please continue to pray for my family as we are still trying to cope with the loss of my father. It is so strange the range of emotions you go through when you lose someone so close to you. Especially when it happens so fast. Even though we knew he was sick. It was very unexpected at the time. Please pray for strength and comfort for all of us.